By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province ― Samsung Electronics, the world's top manufacturer of memory chips, has denied mounting allegations that recent deaths of its chip plant workers were caused by life-threatening materials at its worksites.
In a rare press conference with 80 domestic and foreign reporters, the company's memory chip division President Cho Soo-in, said the company will conduct a review of all production processes and materials with registered institutes and academics including some from the United States.
``Benzene had not been used during the manufacturing processes ever. Meanwhile, it's impossible for workers to be widely exposed to radioactive materials. Safety locks are always in place,'' Cho said at the company's chip complex in Yongin on the outskirts of Seoul.
Samsung is grappling with criticism by civic groups that the death of a female employee on March 31 from leukemia was directly caused by exposure to radioactive rays and benzene.
The 23-year-old Park Ji-yeon had worked at Samsung's chip plant in Onyang ― North Chungcheong Province ― since 2004.
Her job was to check the status of chips with X-ray machines ― a process using radiation.
``Samsung is sorry about the late official response to these cases. That's our mistake. We have prepared this tour to explain misunderstandings about the working conditions at our chip plants,'' Cho said.
``Banollim,'' a civic group that promotes the health and rights of semiconductor company workers, claims that in the past 10 years, 23 Samsung employees contracted leukemia, lymphoma or other blood-related diseases and at least nine of them have died.
``We don't think a one-time explanation will clear all questions. But we've started to efficiently deal with the issue,'' Cho told reporters.
But the company executive declined to comment on any more specific details such as how it will implement strengthened measures to workers and what caused the death of the female worker.
In a separate move, Samsung has opened its chip Line 5 to reporters and allowed them to check out the production processes ― the first time since Samsung started its semiconductor business.
Cho said the company was planning to invite the family members of the dead workers to also inspect the line.